DearBrothersandSisters,
TodaywewillexaminethevirtueofOurBlessedMothercalledArdentLove.
Adjective'sforArdentLove
- having,expressiveof,orcharacterizedbyintensefeeling;passionate;fervent:
- intenselydevoted,eager,orenthusiastic;zealous:
- vehement;fierce:
- burning,fiery,orhot:
Inourcultureweoftenhear;"Idon'tdeservetobetreatedlikethis."or"Whyme?"
IknowIhavesaidthesethingsbefore. Wecanunderstand,empathizeandagreewiththese commentsfromthosepeoplewhoareundergoinggreatsufferingbutattimeswefeelthiswayinthe littleannoyancesinourdayaswell.
GodwhoisLovealoneandwhoadministersLovetoeachofusthroughtheHolySpiritcanhealour heartsofpastwoundsandbringustotheplaceofArdentLove ifwepersevereinprayer.
FromwhatIhave readaboutthesaints,theytellus;whenourheartsarefreefromthechainsandropes, sewageandsludgethatsinhascreatedandthatholdusbound(woundscreatedfromthelackoflove fromthosewhowereclosetousinthepast)thenwebecomefreetoloveinthewayOurLordand BlessedMotherlove. Whenthewoundsarehealedweseewithdifferenteyesandwesinganew songanddesiretoimitateOurLordcrucifiedforthegoodofoursoulandforthegoodofourbrothers andsisters. Wearenotafraidtosufferbecauseofthegracewehaveacquiredthroughprayerand healing.
ArdentLovesays"Why Notme?" "Idodeserveto betreated likethis." "IacceptLordwhatever sufferingyouchoosetosendmyway.” I accept thistreatmentandIseeitasaway toimitatemyLord andmy Lover. I alsothanktheLordforallowingthisgreatsufferingformysoul,(orthislittle annoyance),knowingthispathisthesurestpathtomy LoverwhodiedontheCrossforme. Weare sureofthetruththatoursufferingwillbenefitourselvesorsomeone elseforsalvationjustlikeour
Lordwhodiedonthecrosswithoutfearbutwithgreatloveto benefitothersforsalvation.
Letusprayforthegiftofperseveranceinprayerandhealingofourwoundsso Godcan fill those spaceswithHisArdentLove.
Pleaseprayforme.
InUnionofPrayer, Jean
ST..ALPHONSAFRATERNITY MAY2016NEWSLETTER
MeetingMinutesSunday,April24,20161:30-4:00 pm-EpiphanyCatholicChurch,Coon
Rapids,MN
Present:Fr..JohnBauer,Mark andPattiUrick,TeresaIsenor, CarolSchiebold,Gordonand
TeresaWalker,EllenDrasin,ShirlannBiser,KathyWeissman
Absent:JeanMcGinty,JimMalisheski,DonnaGreen,RayandJeanetteSchelonka,Laurie
Lacina,IreneBrandenburg,JerrySwanson,JeannePage CandidatesPresent:Fr..JohnBauer,GloriaHaluptzok,CathyHills CandidatesAbsent:JanetUhlir
Visitors:ElizabethDohogne
WeparticipatedinAdorationbeforetheBlessedSacramentfor30minutesfrom1:30to2:00.
Weopenedthemeetingwithsong,“God,OurHelpinAgesPast"andprayedthe“HailMary" forourdeceasedBrother,RickIsenor. WethencalledupontheHolySpirittooverseeourmeetingwiththe"ComeHolySpirit"prayer. TeresaWalkersaidtheprayerforpriestsand thenwesaidtheMemorare. TeresaWalkerledusinopeningprayerfromtheRitualandread page72fromtheUnconfirmedRuleof1221.
Business:
Teresaandmemberstalkedaboutthefollowing:
- Fr. Johnannounced hewillbeinRomefromSeptember2016through June2017. Hewillbetheformatorfor15seminarians. Heassuredus hewillcomebackforhisprofessioninNovember. Healsosaidhewill beabletospendtimeinAssisi. WewillgreatlymissFr. Johnwhileheis gonebutknowsthatthisisanamazingopportunityforhimandthe seminarians.
- Weofficiallywelcomed CarolSchieboldintoourFraternity. CongratulationsCarol!
- Wewelcomed ourvisitorElizabethDohogne.
- TheMaymeeting willbeheldatSt. JohnVianneySeminaryandwill startat1:30withMass. WewillalsohaveaHolySpiritpotluck.
- Fr. John,TeresaandGordonattended theSpringRegionalGathering andreportedonthetalkgivenbyFr. McMichael.
- StephaniePercichasdecidedtogoonlapsedstatuseffective April26,2016. Sheassuresusofherongoingprayersforourfraternity.
Treasurer'sReport:
EffectiveApril24,2016theFraternity’s balancewas$1237.40. WethensaidtheBeggar'sprayerandpassedthebeggar bag.
Prayer:ShirlannledusinprayingtheGloriousMysteries. Wesharedimagesandwords receivedaftereachdecade.
Formation:
Shirlannledformationandwebriefly discussedtheIntroductiontothe"FirstandSecondLife ofSt. Francis"byThomasCelanointheOmnibus.
Weclosedthemeetingbyprayingaclosingprayerfrom theRitualandFr..Johngaveushis blessing.
Wethenhadfellowship,hospitalityandrefreshments.
FORMATION-May-June2016 ShirlannBiser
Shirlannaskedustoread30pageseachmonthfrom theOmnibusontheLifeofSt. Francis. Also,there is attachedtothenewsletterinformationthatGordonputtogetheronaNewLifeofSt.Francis.
PrayerRequests:
•ForGod'swillintheselectionofanewpastoratSt..Paul'sChurch.
•ForhealingofcancerforJimM., TrishSwansonandthosewithterminalillnesses.
•ForRachelandWillwhoarenewlymarried.
•ForhealingforScott(braininjury),Connor,Janet,Ellen,Mary,Jim
•ForGod'smercytoreversedecisionregardingfinancialsituation.
•ForCathy'sson,Connor-fullphysicalandspiritualhealing
•ForJanet-full physicalhealing
•Wisdomandenlightenmentforour candidatesfortheFranciscancharism
•Heartsandmindsbeenlightenedwith truth-ComeHolySpirit
•Forallofourpriests/seminariansfortheprayerprotection theyneedandforadevotedprayer life
•Forvocationstothereligiouslife.
•ForallChristiansbeingpersecutedthroughouttheworld
•For theprotectionoftheunbornandalllife
•ForgoodPresidentialcandidateswhowillupholdChristian teachings.
•ForouryouthandforFranciscaninitiativesthatwillteachthemthefreedomoftheFranciscan charism
•Forfamilies-healing,inner healing,peace,conversionandunity
•Prayersforconsolationinfinancial matters/financialsecurity
•PrayersofPeaceintheworldandanendtoviolence andterrorism
•Prayersthat Ellen'sannulmentwillbegranted
•Prayersforallpriestsandseminarians,especiallyatSt. JohnVianneyandSt. Paul
Seminary
* 2016 Calendar
***All Dates in bold are required attendance by our Rule
June 13th- Feast of St Anthony of Padua
June 22nd- Council Meeting
June 26th - Sunday 1:30 PM Fraternity Meeting
July 27th-Council Meeting
July 31st - Sunday 1:30PM Fraternity Meeting
August 2nd - The Portiuncola Indulgence
August 11th - Feast of St Clare
August 14th Feast of St Maximillian Kolbe
August 15th - Feast of the Assumption
August 24th- Council Meeting
August 28th - Sunday 1:30 PM Fraternity Meeting
September 8th - Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sep 12th - Feast of the Holy Name of Mary
September 14th - Exaltation of the Cross
September 15th - Our Lady of Sorrows
September 17th - Sacred Stigmata of our Holy Father Francis
September21st- Council Meeting
September 25th - Sunday 1:30 PM Fraternity Meeting
September 29th - Feast of St Michael the Archangel
October 4th - Transitus of St Francis
October 10th - Canonical Establishment
October 26th- Council Meeting
October 30th -Sunday 1:30 PM Fraternity Meeting,
November Retreat (TBD)
November 19th - St Elizabeth of Hungary,Patron of the 3rd Order
November 23rd- Council Meeting
November 27th - Sunday 1:30 PM Fraternity Meeting
November 29th - Profession for candidates
December 8th - Feast of the Immaculate Conception
December Christmas Party (TBD)
During formation discussion at our last meeting Gordon shared what he had learned about a new find regarding the life of St Francis. The source of that information was the latest issue of “The Franciscan Connection.” A summary of the information is provided below.
Sources:
28. January 2015
Very Early Life of St. Francis of Assisi Discovered
Immediately after the death of St. Francis of Assisi in 1226 his friends began to write down the stories of his life. Later in the 13th century – when it became opportune to gloss over the more radical ideas of the saint – many of these stories were suppressed. A newly found tiny codex holds some of these first texts, later eradicated from the tradition.
A tiny codex measuring no more than 12 x 8 cm, but holding 122 densely written pages, is currently creating a buzz amongst both clerics and historians. Without illuminations and seemingly rather insignificant the find was really only discovered by accident by a professor of history at Vermont, Sean Field. He spotted the codex as it was coming up for auction in Paris and alerted his friend, Jacques Dalarun, historian and director of research at CNRS. Cursorily studying the manuscript from photos presented by the auction house he was immediately stirred by the fact that this seemed to be a manuscript with an unknown text by Thomas de Celano, friend and chronicler of Francis. This text was perhaps one of those suppressed and lost in the 13th century after the final official biography was published by Bonaventura in 1263. In 1266 Bonaventura’sversion was declared the only official text and all others were ordered destroyed by the General Chapter in Paris. Hence a dearth of early manuscripts makes the understanding of the man beneath the saintly myth a historiographically very complicated task to undertake.
It is being hailed as one of the biggest medieval finds in the last century — a 13th century manuscript of St. Francis of Assisi that Flagler College Distinguished Professor of Religion Dr. Timothy Johnson is now translating into English.
The mystery of the relic began to unfold last fall when French medieval scholar Dr. Jacques Dalarun learned of a miniature hand-written book roughly the size of an iPhone that turned up at an auction house in America. Dalarun, who had previously found fragments of the biography, suspected that a more comprehensive version of it existed and had been on the hunt for eight years. “I was very astonished and excited,” the international specialist in Franciscan history said, “because such a discovery is very exceptional — the last one is dated 1922.”
The first step was finding a home for the relic. Dalarun, also the former director of the Institute for Research and History Texts (IRHT), convinced the National Library of France to purchase it, for a price tag of 60,000 euros, or roughly $65,000. He deciphered the miniscule Latin text on poor-quality parchment paper and wasted no time in translating the text’s contents. One can only imagine the process of decoding ancient script — the excitement of discovering, word-by-word, insights critical to the identity of a saintly paragon, and a physical task tempered by patience anda delicate hand.
The works of Thomas de Celano
In September 1226 Francis of Assisi died at Porziuncola, where he had asked to be taken in the last days of his life. Immediately afterwards his body was carried inside the walls of Assisi in order to forestall the thievery of a body of a person so obviously on the way to both beatification and sanctification. As part of this process Pope Gregory IX in 1228 conferred the task of writing theofficial vita to Thomas de Celano, who had been a companion to Francis since at least 1215. This vita was soon completed and already in February 1229 itwas approved, confirmed and declared official by the Pope. Later – in 1244 – Celanowrote a second life of St. Francis after having “meditated on his holiness.” The official aim was to present a more organized version of the life of the Saint. Thomas de Celano also wrote “The Legend for Use in the Choir” plus a “Treatise on the Miracles” and other minor texts.
However, it is well known that a number of non-authorized remembrances at the same timecirculated among the Franciscans, some of which were even written down. These different texts played a major role in the struggles between the different factionsof the Franciscansaboutthe proper understanding of the visions of ilPoverello concerning the proper rules and regulations. During this period the tiny brand of brothers was extremely busy turning itself into a major spiritual and political resource all over Europe. One of these texts was an intermediate Vita by Thomas de Celano. Until now, though, only fragments of this had surfaced. However Dalarun had for some time been busy trying to reconstruct this text from preserved fragments found elsewhere [1]. Now, it seems, he has a full text to work with. Hopefully this might shed new light on theinterplay between the different layers of reminiscences and texts, which circulated in the 13th century.
The new text
Initial examinations by scholars unveiled it to be a combination of sermon collections, biblical books and biography of St. Francis, one of the most venerated Catholic figures in history. The manuscript’s biographical section (15 folios out of 122), referred to as the “Life,” was entirely written by Thomas of Celano, a famous chronicler of Francis’ life in the 13th century. This second “Life” (the first was published by Celano in 1228), also called the “Rediscovered Life,” stresses the role of poverty and love of creation in Francis’ mind and experience. It was written between the years 1232 and 1239. As of now professor Dalarun believes that the chronology is as follows: “In 1229 Thomas of Celano writes the first life (1). Between 1232 and 1239 he writes the second – new found life summarizing and updating the first one (2). In the same period he writes the “Legendaadusum chore,” which is a summary of number two (3). Finally there is the life of St. Francis written by Julian of Speir, which is a mixture of oneand two (4),”he tells us (personal communication).
Once the Latin translation was complete and transcribed into a tidy Word document, the next step was translating it into other languages, chiefly French, Italian, Spanish and English.
Johnson was the first to be considered for the job. “Jacques told me he had been on the hunt for a manuscript,” Johnson said. The manuscript, it turns out, was a codex — a sort of ancient anthology of articles.
“Professor Johnson is one of the best specialists of Franciscan history and theology in America and in the world,” Dalarun said. “He knows very well Franciscan legends and renewed entirely their approach in these recent years … After my discovery, I naturally alerted our little international team, and Tim was obviously the right man to publish an English version of the ‘new’ legend. I am convinced that he will bring to English-speaking readers the flavor and the significance of this amazing document.” As of this writing, he has translated 14 pages of 64.
What exactly one can expect from the forthcoming translations and in-depth studies is unknown. At this writing, Johnson and Dalarun noted greater insights into Francis’ experiences, including his relationship with Franciscan friar Elias and an emphasis placed on “physically-experienced poverty,” his youth and conversion, and the struggles he endured as a businessperson.
According to Professor Dalarun the new-found text thusseems to be an amendment of the first vita of Celano. Apparently this original text was deemed too long by the brethren and was later shortened. Howeverit also holds new items or vignettes as well as some reflections of Thomas de Celano, especially concerning the vexed problems of how to understand the Franciscan concepts of voluntary poverty and the love of the creaturely life. These reflections are not so much preoccupied with fosteringa symbolical point of view; rather they are lodged in concrete and manifest stories of the practicalities of how to experience the peculiar Franciscan poverty. To be a Franciscan is – according to this text – to dress as the poor and eat their food as well as to embrace a practical brotherhood with the full creation – humans, animals and plants. In one instance Francis is told to have taken bark and fibers from the trees and fields to mend his cassock just as the poor did whenever their rags were disintegrating completely.
However, the manuscript does not only contain this newly found biography, which only fills the first 16 pages, it also holds other texts like sermons, recollections of admonitions by the saint, a commentary of Pater Noster etc. So-far this part has only been looked at, but it might indicate that the tiny volume has been a kind of private notebook belonging to a brother around Assisi. There is no doubt about the Italian origin of the manuscript, which is dated to the years after1230.
Historians are eagerly waiting for the scholarly edition of the vita, which will be published together with translations into French, English and Spanish. The Latin Edition and the French translation are ready and will be soon published in Journal des savants and Etudes franciscaines.The Italian and English versions are scheduled tobe published in Frate Francesco and Franciscan Studies later this year.